to evacuate, she had to get her information elsewhere. >>reporter: she told me she had to log on to her commuter in the middle of the night to get to get information. cynthia did you haveny relies on this noaa weather radio to keep them safe. but when the service is not working, there aren't many alternatives her family can tourn. >> it protects my family, it lets me know if there's an emergency, a tornado. fos warnings -- frost warnings. >>reporter: she is rarely able to use her wftv weather app, so this the radio is what she relies on as a warning when storms are expected in her area. >> i had relied on it until 2:00 o'clock in the morning, so what happened was it put it next to my night stand, thinking it would wake me up. >>reporter: while the storms rolled through central florida

and heavy rain that laert -- alerted her. lines had gone down, preventing them for sending out alerts can warning -- alerts and warnings. >> i tried it and it wasn't on, no service or nothing. >>reporter: we reached out to the national weather service who told us the service had been restored just after 10:00 la night but was unable to tell us why the phone lines went out. >> make sure that your service is up and running and you have a back up for this, this have been bad. i could have lost an 18-month-old son in our lives. >>reporter: we also reached out to at&t who told us that the phone lines went down because of a hardware problem caused by another provider. now that we do know that this transmitter can go down, it's more critical l that you have several other options when severe weather cops your way. tom terry was looking into those options, tom, what are residents

>> thanks a lot, roy, it's all about having multiple ways of staying informed and last weekend, was a big part of that. having two or more ways to stay informed is critical when weather moves in, especially important when it's the middle of the night. our free severe weather center 9 weather app did alert us early sunday when tornado watches were issued and later when the severe thunderstorms. there's the app live. we also had tons of information piped out to our social media pages, and of course our website. so make sure you have that backup, to a more traditional weather radio to alert you so that when we are all on the air in the middle of the night, you are awake to get that vital information. like i say, it's always about staying safe and redundancy, make sure that you have our free severe weather center 9 weather app. and of course, we also have a reach on our facebook and twitter to the more traditional l weather radio. if it doesn't, wo, you can stay

we are learning investigators could have a tough time identifying two stranger whos barged into the wrong home. even though three people were in the home when it happened. all day tonight, karia has been working the story from the house. in orlando. at 5:00, she told us that the vp humane society been -- victims had been involved in a prior home invasion. they r not able to get a good look at the attackers. >>reporter: they got a good look at the car, they say the men got away in an older gray chevy impala. the people say that the men had their faces covered with masks. and they were wearing dark clothing. inside what was supposed to be her safe place, the mother who owns this harwood street home, says she and her two kids were held at gunpoint by two men who demanded money she didn't have.

really had the wrong house. >>reporter: police think so, too. even though there were three people who saw the men inside, they had masks covering their faces, making it impossible to do a sketch. >> you're heartless, you have no soul. you know, come into somebody's house and stick guns in their face and in their children's face and you're evil. >>reporter: the family told us they have more reason than ever to worry about this case being solved. >> got to be hard to wake up and get the phone call. >> it is. it is hard. one. >>reporter: the grandmother says another of her grandchildren, adam williams was killed last invasion. despite a public press conference with sobbing pleas, his killer, still hadn't been caught. >> why you keep letting these people go to target and [ inaudible ]. >> if they thought either of those cases were connected but because of the m.l.k.

the offices are closedful we'll check tomorrow. reporting live in orlando, channel 9 eyewitness knew. hospital officials have identified a crash patient medical center for weeks. we told you last week the man was injured in a crash just after christmas. someone has now come forward to identify him, because of privacy laws, the hospital cannot release that information. hospital officials are working to locate the victim's family. burned to the ground to find out how this fire started. lake county citrus sales were house on this property and the firefighters had to work quickly to prevent the flames from reaching the fuel tanks on this property. city leaders told us that the building was in very bad shape and about to be forced into demolition. >> i worry when i'm at work.

or could happen in the area, you know, what is going on. >> the owner told us he was addressing the code issues and in the process of slowly taking down the building. tonight, we're asking if a missing person's case in a suspicious death are connected. we told you at 4:00, a cadaver dog uncovered a body this afternoon in the backyard of a home in paisley. that's where she joins us live tonight and in the past two hours you learned that that home belongs to a man who has not been seen in a month. >>reporter: yeah, neighbors out here say they've not seen hill for weeks at least, they -- him for weeks at least, they have seen a woman and her children who are been living inside of this home that is a crime seen. one neighbor said that woman who is the homeowner went to rehab. the detectives started searching for dennis jones l.a. night after 8:00 o'clock, he was not in his house and his truck was not here either. they later found it down the

a cadaver dog found remains buried in joan backyard. we asked the deputies if they would have a hard time figuring out what happened to him since he's not been spotted for a month. >> they do have information that they are working on, i'm not at liber the i to release the details -- liberty to release the details at this point. >>reporter: deputies did say they're working to determine if those the were jones remains found in his own backyard and that determination could come in as few as a couple of days. meanwhile, deputies are still out here surrounding the home tonight. however, jones home is now a crime scene. channel 9, eyewitness news. tonight, an orlando man is hoping someone cops forward to

help catch the men -- international drive. the victim told us he left the new mango's nightclub and waiting for a red light. >> we heard a loud noise, a gunshot, and then, the rear passenger window blew out in my car, the glass went flying, shattered me in the face. hit my passenger in the face. >> the victim also showed us where the bullet went through a panel in his car dmr all new tonight, the accused burglar who was stabbed to death while trying to get into a victim's home as han r been identified. 24-year-old might be l was killed on friday, while trying to break into the home in winter park. someone inside stabbed him, investigators have already said any charges. a couple of teenagers accused of beating another teen with a crowbar are expected to enter a plea. they face charges for attacking

crowbar in his own driveway before school. they thought he stole marijuana from them. this happened last february in satellite beach. he will be court on thursday. this afternoon, a volusia county man a accused of killing a horse, and hurting its rider is back in jail. christopher todd was charged last february for ramming his truck into a horse and killing it. along the st. johns river near orange city. the rider, also suffered a broken collarbone. todd's bond was revehicled when deputies found -- revoked when car next week. this week, volusia county officials are expected to discuss a temporary plan to fixing the homelessness issue in daytona beach. homeless people are camping outside of the county street. on thursday t volusia county manager will propose leasing or north street. the plan asks for the county to

brand new at 6:00, residents say a program meant to prevent car break-ins goes too far. >> they're not going to open the door to your house and put a note on the table that your door was unlocked. >> what some officers were doing that has some asking if they were breaking the law. >> also new, how soon drivers can start using the first section of the new parkway toll road. >> i'm ready for that, myself. cold weather settling in with 30s later tonight, updating how

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you're watching channel 9 eyewitness news at 6:00 with bob opsahl, martha sugalski and certified chief meteorologist tom terry. >> new at 6:00, tonight, asking if a new plan by orlando police meant to prevent break-ins is legal. >> they are leaving notes to alert drivers that their doors were unlocked. but shannon

may be breaking the law by going inside of your vehicle. >> this letter posted on facebook caused a lot of talk about your rights. the letter, a friendly reminder from orlando police to a woman in baldwin park. it says, she left her door unk loed, inside, police found her work id. and noted it was something that puts her at risk for identity theft. some, think that this is community service. others say it's a violation of your rights. >> i definitely think that is an overreach. >>reporter: the problem for some is that the officers are watching what you do and the officers open your door and go inside. this friendly reminder, the woman, said, was left on her front seat. >> they're not going to open the door to your house and set a note on the table and inside of your house that the door was unlocked. the vehicle is personal property, it's kind of crossing the same boundary, in my opinion. >>reporter: the program is called operation lockup.

around the neighborhood, and one by one, check all of the cars. what police officers are looking for are things like this, a window down, a door unlocked and this guy has equipment in the back, just right for the taking. >> orlando police don't apologize for what they call community policing at its best. today, they sent a statement saying, quote, in almost all cases, we leave the flier on the windshield or near the passenger door jamb. at times, we may believe a form on the seat or floorboard of a vehicle. at no time, are we physically searching vehicles, and we don't issue tickets or anything like that during these operations. in orlando, shannon butler, channel 9, eyewitness news. >> lawyers told channel 9 this is illegal and should not be channel 9 legal analyst says there is no valid reason police have to do this, unless they see leaving your door unlocked is not a crime sfl

awaited parkway is scheduled to open this week. f dot will hold a grand opening on wednesday. the portion that's getting the green light runs from mount policewomen mouth road near hoss road to state road 46 in lake county. this 25-mile parkway will be central florida's first all electronic toll road. it will also complete central florida's beltway when done. this is exciting news. researcher at florida state university are working to find the most effective way to explain new road signs, and signals to drivers, especially senior citizens. the institute for successful longevity. they fwif out the cards which explains warning lights across the state of florida. county by county tonight, in sumter county, deputies are asking for help in a homicide case. investigators have been working throughout the weekend, but still don't know how he died. we're told a couple discovered the body friday while riding the trails in the state forest.

police say a 72-year-old man is accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a 16-year-old girl, investigators arrested william lynch the third, this morning, when they say he was on his way to pick up the teen. the girl's mother called the police when she found a box with letters and other questionable items, police found he had rented a room for the pair and held on a $105,000 bond. a new report is showing there are concerns about safety budget and scheduling deadlines are increasing safety risks when it comes to the heavy lift rocket pra m and the orion program. the testing in these programs has gradually eroded since 2010. >> they're advocating their position as they're supposed to. and management at nasa and in congress and the white house has to balance the competing interests, carefully. >> space x first tell us fortunately, advances by commercial space flight companies will buffer the impact, if something happens to

in orange county, walt disney world has filed a construction permit request for work near hollywood stud yee owes, expanding, paing and rehabilitate part the park. expanding a ramp to the park entrance and building an entrance road from world drive to the brans of the park. >> the city of ocoee held the unity parade in honor of martin luther king, jr. day. the parade included motorcycles and floats. a good day for it. the event kicked off this morning at citrus elementary school. beautiful day out today. >> oh, boy, was it ever. >> perfect. >> kids were outside playing. beautiful day, great weather here, after some stormy weather over the weekend. downtown, and deltona in a dead heat at 55 degrees, going to fall back in the upper 30s overfight tonight. we're very uniform in our

these sensor s are reading the same, my first suspicious is we have clouds overhead. so those hud hie clouds will act -- high clouds will act like that thin blanket. 39 kissimmee, st. cloud. 35 in palm coast f ft but because we do have the cloud cover tonight, this will preclude a widespread freeze. at least so far, we're expecting a light freeze near marion county, no official freeze advisory has been posted. you've already hit freezing once. they will let it go into effect though tomorrow night, i think tomorrow night will be colder. wind chills in the morning, also be dealing with that at 4:00 o'clock in the morning. feeling like the freezing make in marion county. mid 30s. 33-34, so those light jackets will be needed, as kids are back in school tomorrow. for melbourne and palm bay, temperatures not getting out of the mid 50s all afternoon long. 56 at 2:00 o'clock, we will clear out the skies, though, one of the reasons it will be colder

as opposed to this evening. daytona, mix of clouds and sunshine tomorrow with temperatures barely getting into the lower 50s. it is january after all. right, we're allowed a couple of cold days. 56 in sanford. cool and mostly sunny late did in day tomorrow. a beautiful, but cool afternoon. so not tonight, but tomorrow night, we have a freeze watch in effect, sumter and marion, to the north, closer to tomorrow night, we'll be talking about the cold pockets and you know who you are. that will also have a chance for a freeze across parts of lake and volusia. future track, keeps the high clouds spilling through for tomorrow. overall, clearing things out tomorrow night, leading to the chilldown into the 30ss for a second night in a row. watching moisture along the coast, of the rain should stay offshore, so try weather for tomorrow. wednesday, mostly dry on thursday. but another r storm system that is gathserring some -- gathering some speed back to the west will be the next weather maker on friday morning and afternoon. probably a little bit later in the day than the overnight storm

so make sure you've got your free weather app ready to go. of course, that alerts tab down there was very critical on sunday morning, it did send out the severe weather alerts, it also kind of knows where you are. so if you're in another state, for example, it would also issue advisories wherever you you are. tonight, 39, coldest for orlando. back at a cool, pleasant, 58 degrees. our five-day forecast with your weekend always in view, showing daytime highs slowly warming back up, 66 on thursday. on wednesday, by 38 orlando, means it will be awfully chilly, 60% chance of rain. updating potential. right now, looks like this storm system will move very fos. i'm not sure we'll have another

welcome back. the nba is taking extra steps to honor martin luther king, jr., talks about king's remarkable life. also on the court, ten total games scheduled for m.l.k. day at 2:00 o'clock this afternoon. not wrapping up until after midnight. magic actually taking part in an early evening game atlanta. victor in this one, as he's out with the sprained knee. second quarter, magic down. peyton to gordon. on the other end, jeff teeg from the corner, hawks doing this all afternoon. that stretches the lead to 12. 10 different have scored in this one, they lead by 13 at the half. we'll have complete highlights for you tonight at 11:00. >> on the gridiron, tampa bay bucss running back, the first

player has received the honor. martin thrived under offensive coordinator dirk. second most in the nfl. and the third most in bucs franchise history. college ball, the coverage isn't completely bare. the conference released the post-season awards today, wide receiver smith the aec rookie of the year. how about that catch? he led the snooits in touchdown -- knights in touchdowns. >> central florida, gordon, got money, signed a 5 yooef, 50 miami marlins. >> doing well. the local developer has big plans for a new neighborhood in osceola county, but they're being disrupted by wildlife. >> tonight on eyewitness news at 10:00 and 11:00 here on channel 9. >> thank you for watching channel 9 eyewitness news at 6:00. >> abc world news with david muir is up next. and for updates, check out wftv.com, we'll see you later on